The Evening Star. SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 3778, 3 April 1875, Page 2

The Evening Star. SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 1876.

Who is to blame in the matter of the Forbury Kailway ? We cannot say that the Provincial Government is, for the Sup rintendent has evidently done his best to push it forward. He has shown the advantages of it to the Colonial Executive, explained that every requirement of the law would be complied with by the company, and pointed out the discouragement of private enterprise chat must follow if impediments are thrown in the way of its construction. Neither do we think Mr Reynolds can rationally be blamed in the matter. Much stress has been laid upon the salo and purchase of rail misunderstanding, as if upon that had do pended permission to go on with or to stop the works. We certainly do not think that the Works Department of the Government showed that readiness to assist private enterprise that should have marked their proceedings. If the Forbury line was projected m private interest and for private prolit, it is quite in accordance with the theory laid down by the Legislature that main lines shall be constructed by the Colonjq and feeders by those whose needs are to be served by them. When, therefore, the Hon. W. tl. Reynolds, as far as he was personal!-, concerned, saw no objection to selling the accessary rails for the construction ol the line, there can be no doubt he considered he was expressing an opinion that would find re»dy response by the department that had immediate supervision of the matter We think it quits probable that the expression of that opinion has led to the hindrance. We have s had quite sufficient departmental experience to teach ua that no greater official sin can be committed than for an applicat on to be made to a wr n<* person, or for the heao of one department co express an opinion respecting the deswn . or probab'e action of acooher. Mr Leynolds, even in bis qualified acquiescence to the request of the company for the sale of rails appears to have gone beyond departmental etiquette. In his honest impulse he said more than he ought. His diplomatic answer should have been, “It is not m my department to say whether you shall have the rails or not; you had better app’y to the Hon Mr Richardson, who, I have no doubt will give you every assistance in his power and he should have taken his seat in the carnage and said no more. Then the directors of the company should have sent an accurately worded official letter to the b.ad of the Works Department, requesting to be allowed to purchase the rails, and the head of the Works Department would have forwarned it to the District Engineer for report • and in due time an answer would have been received stating that the company could have the rails at prime cest—ard very probably the few feet of land belonging to Her Majesty below the tide mark would have escaped notice, and the Forbury line by this time have been in working order, pourin'-/ in its contributions to swell the revenue of°the Clutha railway. It is plain, therefore, to us that the company is to blame for not unders banding official etiquette and the routine of red tape. As for poor Mr Reynolds, he has had a hard time of it. Like many other men with the beat intentions in the world, he has o o t himself into hot water with those whom "he wished to serve, as well as with his colleagues in the Ministry. The company says and wants the people of Dunedin to say h<* promised on behalf of the Government what the Kxecutive have refused to endorse, and therefore he has deceived them. The Ministry say, in effect, in their letters, and most probably told him in their words, that he had no business to meddle with matters not included in his departmental duties Wo have no doubt he has done his best for the company, and that neither he nor any one else expected that a Government would have asked any usurious profit on the cat of rails intended for the construction of a fee ler to one of their own lines. We can quite understand that it is not the province of the Government to import rails and sell them to private companies ; but, on the other hand, where branch railways form part of a general system, we think it is their duty to give every reasonable assistance to undertakings so likely to conduce to public advantage. This was an exceptional case and need not have formed a precedent for future action. The legal difficulty is a God-send to the department—a loop-hrle to creep out at; but at the same time an indication that must not be lost sight of in other pr jeers. It is unfor fcunate for the Forbury Company that they have to suffer through it, but it points to the necessity for a strict definition of legal conditions on which lias may be constructed and a general p oviaion that will prevent the cost of a separate act in each individual case. No doubt, on technical grounds, the action of the General Government may be upheld ; perhaps, now that the discovery of the tide ;evel has been made, it cannot do otherwise than it has done. There are those who see political indications in this petty affair: they maintain that it is Centralism v •r’rovinc’a ism, Blmji a l * flic Colonial Ministry maybe as to the effect t' n the public mind of such transf. ct ona as the muddle, they a-e noi sufficiently stupid cut their own throats by such an old way of y >^' ra ding the blessings of Centraliim. We look upon or igi Q of it as

really more of a departmental squabble than anything ehe, although it is by no means improbable that the root of the matter lies even deeper than that, and must be sought for in some fancied division of interest 'Boong the people of Dunedin. Telling tales from a variety of motives is not confined to school children.

It is reported that Mr Millar, F.S.A., is likely to be appointed Provincial Engineer of »'elsou.

At the Dunedin School Committee’s meetiug yesterday it was stated by Mr Stout tha* the revenue of the Province for 1874-syhad ■xceeded that of the previous year by LIOO.OOO. J

On tbe 27th of last month the celebrated thoroughbred racehorse Ravensworth, the property of the Wanganui Stud Company, lied. He waa sixteen years of age, and was the sire of innumerable good racers. The Queenstown correspondent of our Clyde contemporary circulates a rumor—which will scarcely gain many believers—that Mr C. D, Haughton will shortly appear once more in the political arena, and go in for a seat in the Assembly at the next general election.

During the last two days the prisoners employed in the formation of the road from tort Chalmers to Deborah Bay have dia* 00 | V - e of two Maoris, one of whim was found in excelent preservation, iua was conveyed to Dunedin by the working party on Thursday evening. On the arrival of the s.s. Otago at Port Jha'mevs this morning from Melbourne, Mr B. Isaac, the president of the Jewish congregation in Dunedin, went on board to welcome the Rev Mr Leichtecstein, who has been elected to fill the position of Rabbi for he congregation in Dunedin. The rev. gentleman is accompanied by Mrs Leichtensfcein and family. The ‘ Thames Advertiser ’ hears that when Mr Vogel applied to the Messrs Rothschild to negotiate the loan of four millions, the head of that enterprising firm said, “Yea, if you like, we will give you a cheque at once for three millions, and we will give you another ftithiu a month. ” Not many people, even in these days of enormous wealth, culd say that. Mr Fox, in his lecture delivered at Auckland! before leaving the Colony, criticised the action of the Presbyterian Assembly, which, in its last session, he said, adopted a report condemning the alcohol trade; but, as a remedy, recommended a service once a year in the churches, and to ask the Government to introduce light wines from Australia. He considered the whole thing a deplorable sham.

It appears that knighthoods have been offered to and refused by Messrs Stafford and Pox. Mr Stafford received the offer of whst maybe termed the "• denial” order of knighthood some time ago, but ho failed to appreciate this inferior order, and wrote a very indignant letter declining the offer. A similar offer was made to Mr Pox. who adopted a different tone in his reply, and filled a page of foolscap with banter about the offer of a knighthood which could not be recognised in England. He failed to see it. The Perth, Angus, and Mearns Associa don is to be inaugurated by a social meeting. The following were yesterday elected office bearers .-—President, Mr .Ramsay; Vice-presidents, Messrs W. Downie Stewart and A. Mollisou, M.P.C. ; Treasurer, Mr David f?, ' tew arc; Local Secretary, Mr Charles Morrison ; Corresponding Secretary, Mr R. M'Naughton, Committee—Messrs David Smeatoo, James Moliison, Thomas bow, Professor Maogregor, W, M I K enzie, Alexander M‘Kenzie, James Wilkie, juo., >ndrew Davidson, David Fidlayson, * ilraeur, Captains Clark and Logaa. The opinion of Messrs t-tephen and Kerferd, who were the law officers of the Crown in Victoria when the decision ordering the release of Mount and Morris was given? has been maintained, and the Privy Council has decided that both the men w-ere illegally discharged from custody; they are °now simply in the position of escaped convicts "hould they be in any part of the British dominions, or iu any country where an extradition treaty may be in force, it is probable that both prisoners will be m custody before long, and will be brought on to Victor a to complete their term of imprisonment.

There not being sufficient room in the Industrial School for the almost daily in creasing number of inmates, very necessary additions to the building have bteea sauct oned by the Government and are now being made Principal amongst them are a large schoolroom; a cookhouse, with the latest improvements, to be built where the o.d kitchen stands, and a new washhouse * while the diaiug-i oom is to be enlarged by the addition of the old washhouse which adjoins it. The present schoolroom is to bo converted into a sleeping room. The whole of the work will be carried out under the supervision of the Government Inspector (Mr Somerville), and should be completed in about a month.

The quarterly meeting of the School, masters’ Association was held this morning in the Lower Hall of the Athenaeum. Present —Messrs M‘Lauchlan (in the chair), Stewart, M‘Kay, Park, Montgomery, Milne, Taylor M'Farlane, M‘Leod, Sutherland, Keid! _ v eiah, Maoandrew, and White. The following members were appointed to read papers fcetore future meetings of the Assoc’ation • Messrs M‘Kay, Macandrew, M Leod, Park and M*Lauchlan. A resolution to discontinue the monthly meetings was negatived. A lengthy discussion took place on the position and relation of School Committees, a very general opinion being expressed that they fulfilled important duties, but that their powers ought to be more strictly' defined. A formal resolution to this effect was carried, and the meeting then adjourned until the first Saturday in May.

At the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Port Chalmers, this morning, before Mr T. A. Man i ford R. M., Johnde Jongh, John Samson, John No wan, and William Bell, were fined respectively the sum of ss, with the alternative of 24 hours’ imprisonment with hird 1 »bor, for drunken aud disorderly conduct. John M'Lean and Thomas O’ orke, for finhtuig ia <-eurge street, Port Chalmers, yesterday evening, were ordered to pa} a fine of H)s each, or be imprisoned for 24 hours’ with hard labor. The following civil cases were also beard:—James Gall gv. Sullivan, a claim for 10s, for work and labor dene in carting 28 • a-.es fruit. After hearing the evidence the Bench gave judgment for the amount claimed with coa; s. Thomas Brench’ey v. A. Moir. claim of L 27 for 120 tons of stone ballast delivered on board the barque Cezariwitch Judgment was given fir the plaintiff, with costs. “ Accidents will happen in the best regulated families,” and in accordance with the old saying, the ‘Grey Kiver Argus’ of a recent date records that Val Vose’s dummy assistants, “Johnny Trotter,” “ Mrs Brown, and others, were seized by the bailiff, at the suit of a former servant of Mr Vose. The suit was brought at Charleston wbie Vose was performing at Reafton. and as he could not appear judgment went by default. The claim was resisted as being an unjust overcharge, about the merits of wluco we know nothing. The consequence was that “Johnny” and others were sold !>y auction, and bought in by a member of tl e company, but the price did not cover the costs of the warrant, execution, &c. Advan*

tage was taken of these proceedings to give another entertainment in Greyxnouth, when the appearance of Vose and hia assistants was immensely applauded, more especially when many happy alia ions were made to re cent proceedings and experiences. Through the courtesy of Mr J. R, Mouson, of Port Chalmers, we have been favored with the returns of immigration and emigration for the month ending 31st of March. The number of adults who arrived from the United Kingdom during that period was 184 women, 116 men, 36 girls, and 42 boys ; infants, 10 females and 6 males ; giving a total of 230 males, 164 females. From Victoria: 138 men, 27 women, and I boy ; total. 139 males, 27 females. From Tasmania : 19 men, 9 women, 1 boy, and 1 girl, infant 1 ; total, 21 males, 10 females. Prom Hong Kong; 251 men, 2 women; total, 251 males, 2 females—making a grand total of immigrants, of both texes, 844 The number of persons who have left this port was For Great Britain ; 25. men, 22 women, 6 boys, 7 girls, and 1 male infant Total—males, 32; females, 29. For INew South Wales : 2 women, 1 boy, and 1 girl. Total—male, 1; females 3. For Victoria : 65 men, 19 women, 2 boys, and 8 girls. Total— 74 ; females, 27, making a grand total of 107 males, 59 females, which, deducted from the number of immigrants, leaves a total in favor of immigration of 678 persons.

“ The New Magdelen," by Wilkie Collins, was performed at the Princess’s Theatre last evening, when the house was well filled in every part. Mias May Howard created a raoro favorable impression in the part of Mercy Merrick, than m tbe representation .-f any character she ha< yet rendered in Dunedin. The plot is well known, the piece having been played during the engagement of Mrs Walter Hill at this Theatre, so it is only necessary to say that Miss Howard showed she had a true conception of the position and feelings of the sinning, but repentant oulcist playing without touching upon the ex tremes of affectation or of overdone pathos. Mrs Stoneham was quite in her element as f ady Janet Roy ; and Miss Willis vindictive enough as the sneering and unforgiving Grac Romberry. Mr Keogh, as the philanthropic clergyman, Mr Julian Gray, fairly astonished the audience, and was several times loudly applauded for his delivery of the fine language allotted to that character by the author The other characters were well filled, though the prompter’s voice was too often audible. The performance concluded with “The ■ o.m of a Lover,” in which Miss Adelaide Stone ham took the part of Gertrude. To-nignt the programme will be repeated.

Wo commend to the notice of Mr Lemon the desirability of introducing into the seivica of his department some of Wheatstone’s automatic transmitters. 1 he New South Wales Govemme ifc have lately adapted them at Albury, the principle repeating stati- u iu the Colony, and they have been worked with astonishing success. This wondertu machine is simply the perfection of mechanical mean'* to an end, and is capable of trans mitting or rtceiving messages per Morse code at a rate of 100 words per minute, or 6,000 words per hour with the greatest accuracy. A series of speed tests was applied at A!bury with the greatest success. The fir-t experiment gave a result of 210 words transmitted to Sydney at half speed in f ,ur minutes and five seconds; a second trial, at three quarter speed, 210 words to Sydney, in three minutes and fifteen seconds ; and a third trial at full speed only occupied two minutes and two seconds, being at the rate of 105 words per minute. The next teat was applied to the receiver, an instrument capab!e of recording signals in the Morse code an ; at about half speed eighty words were received irom Sydney in one minute and sixteen seconds, and at full speed in fi/ty-t wo seconds. Under ordinary circumstances an average rate of ninety words could be maintained for hours, this being three times faster than expert hand-operating.

The Dunedin School Committee yesterday recommended Miss Gourley to the. Education Board to till the position lately vacated by Miss Joan Hill at the Middle D strict Scoool, and Miss Gow to fill that of pupil teacher. Mr Chapman was appointed third master of the Middle >'cho«l, vice Mr Lindsay, resigned, fct a salary of L2OO ; and Mr Lucas was appointed to Mr < hap r.an’s place. Messrs ‘ lilies and Stout were elected a committee to consider the question of distribution of salaries in all the schools. The circular from the Education Board, requesting to be informed as to the advisability of gett ng a Bill passed at the next meeting of the Pro vincial Council to levy an assessment on rateable property in each district for school purposes, was again discussed, Mr Cargdl expressing himself strongly against acting in the matter, saying that he could not imagine anything more mischievous than for the Board, & purely administrative body, to meddle in the matter of levying, which should be general or not as all. The remarks of Mr •Cargill were warmly supported by Mr fish, who regarded the circular as a move on the part of the Government to get the moral support of School Committees to back them up on a question intended to be brought before the Provincial Council, and which it was known would meet with much opposition On the opposite side spoke Mr Stout, who said the matter did not originate with the Government, who merely wanted the Committee to ex press ah opinion upon it. After further discussion the following motion by Mr Cargill—“ That this Committee consider their functions to be purely of an administrative character, and respectfully decline to express their opinion as to the desirability or otharwise of school committees bung empowered to levy rates”—was carried, Mr Stout being the only dissentient.

The regular monthly meeting of the National Building Society ‘ will be held on Monday evening.

Mr B. Short is advertised to preach to-morrow morning and evening in the Congregational Church, Moray place.

There are twenty-four inmates in the Sailor's’ Home at present, fourteen having entered and fifteen left during the week.

We understand that the Rev. E. Granger formerly curate of All Saints’, will preach at Sfc. Matthew’s to-morrow morning. The rider of Kildare in the Hurdle Race at the Taieri meeting was J. W. Cotton, not Gourley, as stated in our issue of yesterday. Tire Dunedin Volunteer Artillery Band will parade in uniform for captain’s inspection at the Drill-shed on Wednesday evening at 7-30.

We have been requested to draw attention to the following subjects for the matriculation examination at the next session of the University, the subjects being those adopted by the Senate of the New Zealand Univcr-ity Greek : Grammar, and very easy passages for translation at sight. Latin: Grammar, and very easy passages for translation at sight. English ; Grammar aud composition. Arithmetic: Fundamental rules, vulgar and decimal fractions, proportion, and square root. Algebra; To simple equations inclusive, with easv i roblems. Euclid ; The first two books. " Elementary Chemistry : < The non-metallic elements, and the atomic theory. Elementary Physics: Any one of the following branches—(a) Electricity; (b) Sound and light; (c) Heat. Elementary Natural Science : Any one of the following branches—(a) Botany; (b) Zoology; (o) Geology. Modem Languages; Grammar of qae modern language, French, German, or Italian, and easy translation at sight. Geography : The chief physical features aud principal towns of Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, together with more minute details of the geography of Great Britain aud Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. History: Outlines of English history to the end

of the eighteenth century. Candidates will be examined in six or more of the above subjects They will be required to pass in at least six subjects, of which Latin, English gram* mar and composition, and arithmetic must be three.